Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Year: 2008
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia Labeouf, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen, John Hurt


If you grew up in the 80s, chances are you know the name Indiana Jones. He's like the godfather of adventure films. Indy is the well known part time teacher, part time archaeologist who would risk life and limb to save an artifact. The famed creation of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg has spawned three films, all of which are pretty damn good in my view. And now, like Rambo before him, Indy has been resurrected.

In the previous three films, the time setting is in the 1930s, during World War II. To address the passage of time, it's 1957 in this current film, during the Cold War era, the birth of the nuclear bomb and the paranoia of communism. The story begins with a group of Russian soldiers led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) breaking into Area 51 (yeah, no kidding) in order to steal a mysterious magnetic box, with the reluctant help of our good Dr Jones no less. Jones eventually leads them to the box, and then escapes their clutches despite being betrayed by his comrade Mac (Ray Winstone).

However, the Russians succeed in stealing the box, causing the FBI to blame Indy for the mishap and investigate him. Indy loses his job at the university, and just as he is about to travel elsewhere to start again, he runs into a young man by the name of Mutt Williams (Shia Labeouf). Mutt asks Indy for his help in saving his mother as well as an old friend of Indy's, Dr Oxley (John Hurt). Apparently, Oxley has made a startling discovery about a mystical crystal skull, something which the Russians are after. Indy and Mutt travel to South America to follow the clues and save Ox and Mutt's mother, who Indy discovers later on to be his old flame, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).

The question on everyone's mind is of course, can this film deliver just as the previous films did? Well, yes and no. Yes, it's nice to see Spielberg, Lucas and Harrison Ford as Indy team up once more to bring us more chills and spills. And for the record, Ford can still do this. He looks older, no doubt, but he can still punch, whip, ride and fight with the best of them. It's his defining role, and he can't miss. Spielberg delivers the action well enough, throwing in a nuclear explosion, an exhilarating jeep ride through the jungle, ancient Mayans, giant ants and a quicksand sequence that is downright hilarious. Spielberg, noting the ageing action hero in Ford, lets the young successor Labeouf take part in a fencing duel with Blanchett perched atop two jeeps side by side. Good stuff.

But then, the story has to matter too, and this is where Lucas fails somewhat. Of all the things he decides to bring to Indy 4, he settles on...aliens! Hmm, did Area 51 exist that far back? Well, who knows? But putting Indy on a wild alien chase takes some getting used to. And Labeouf swinging on vines in the jungle? Please. That one looked out of place, as does the final matrimonial scene, I hope I didn't spoil it for you there.

Performance wise, other than Ford, it's all average to slightly above average at best. Winstone is stuck with yet another role that could have been left out of the story altogether. Poor guy, he will probably only be remembered for playing an animated character for his work in the past one year, and that one I didn't even bother to watch. Blanchett sports the worst haircut since Javier Bardem's in No Country For Old Men, which makes her look more like a comicbook character than a striking villain. Where's Monaram when you need him? Karen Allen, who looks like she's aged more than Ford since Raiders Of The Lost Ark, isn't too shabby reprising her role, while Labeouf is spot on as the rebellious Mutt. You can sense that he's gonna be the next action hero for this franchise, if they decide to continue.

I do like the various homages to the previous films: a picture and subsequent mention of Sean Connery and Denholm Elliot, who were both in The Last Crusade, a brief glimpse of the Ark from Raiders and Indy's fear of snakes revisited. Oh, and Karen Allen of course. But I still find it hard to put as much faith as I did in the previous three films in this one. Even the humour in Crystal Skull seems forced, and it misses more than it hits the mark.

It's a honorable try, but if you want a real Indy adventure, pick up The Last Crusade. It's my favourite, and it will always be. (3.5/5)